The Sims 2 is a simulation/strategy game and is a sequel to The Sims. It was released on September 17th 2004 and there have been seven expansion packs and seven stuff packs released. The game mostly consists of you creating some Sims and leading them through their life from 'cradle to grave.' However, although that is the main aim of the game there is a lot more to it such as building your Sims skills, building their homes and playing generations of Sims, complete their aspirations and preventing their fears, getting them a job and getting promoted. As the expansion increases it adds more fun to the game.

The creation of Sims in The Sims 2 is a lot more advanced than the creation of Sims in The Sims. A lot of new features have been added and I will talk about these in this guide.

There are lots of new options for making your Sims unique from head to toe. Just have fun with it! Make whatever kind of person you want to... are they fashionable or not? Hot or not? What about their personality? Zodiac sign? Aspiration? Who do they live with? Age?

When you first choose to create a Sim it takes you to the create-a-Sim screen, which is also known as CAS. You start off at step one which has the main controls. You will then progress through the steps to further the customization of your Sim.

Throughout The Sims 2 [PC/Mac] game there are almost an infinite amount of items that players can buy from the Buy Mode portion of the game. The Buy Mode consists of a catalog of items in categories by the specific type of item including: Seating, Surfaces, Decorative, Plumbing, Appliances, Electronics, Lighting, Hobbies, and Miscellaneous. The hobbies category of the Buy Mode is a relatively new category to the Sims series as it wasn't available in the first The Sims [PC] series. Each category, for example Seating, will have objects that Sims can sit or lie down on, such as chairs, loveseats, couches, and beds. This is the same for the other eight categories of the Buy Mode.

There are three modes in the Sims 2. These are live mode, where you play with your Sims; buy mode, where you furnish their houses; build mode, where you can build their houses; and neighborhood mode where you move around houses, make new lots, play with family locations and funds etc., and access CAS.

Live Mode

It is most likely that most of the game is spent in live mode which is where you really get playing. This mode shows your Sims and just about all information about them.

There’s a small panel that has each of the modes on it as well as a few other buttons. There is the pause button which pauses the game until you click again to unpause. You can also click ‘p’ on your keyboard or press the pause button located at the top right of your keyboard.

There’s a camera button for taking in-game pictures of your Sims. These can be made into a Sim story in the family album which is also located on the panel. There is also a video button which can film small clips of your Sims which can be formed into a video out of game.

There are also three other buttons. These speed up the gaming speed and can be useful for when you are bored of watching your Sims just paint.

Beside the panel there is the aspiration panel for your Sims. These include the wants and fears, the aspiration your Sim is, life time want, influence (if you have Nightlife or later) and lastly the aspiration meter. This tells you how well your Sim is to achieving their aspiration and lastly the aspiration meter. This tells you how well your Sim is to achieving their aspiration and it changes depending on the wants and fears your Sim has achieved.

The next panel is all the information about your Sim. At the top it shows the Sims motives and how happy they are. These motives are hunger, comfort, hygiene, energy, bladder, and environment and can be altered with different interactions.

Under Comfort you can find dining chairs, living chairs, recliners, sofas and loveseats, and beds.
Under Surfaces you can find counters, tables, end tables, coffee tables and desks.
Under Decorative you can find plants, sculptures, wall hangings, mirrors and curtains.
Under Plumbing you can find toilets, showers and tubs, sinks and hot tubs.
Under Appliances you can find cooking, refrigerators, small appliances and large appliances.
Under Electronics you can find entertainment, TVs and computers, audio and small electronics.
Under Lighting you can find table lamps, floor lamps, wall lamps, hanging lamps and outdoor lamps.
Under Hobbies you can find creativity, knowledge, exercise and recreation.
Under Miscellaneous you can find dressers, children and party.

To the right is a set of tools. These are the hand tool which is used for picking up and placing, the eyedropper tool for finding something in the catalog which is already on the lot, the design tool which can change the color of some items, the day/night toggle which shows what the lot looks like in day or night, the top down view which shows you a bird's-eye view of the lot and the rotating buttons which rotate the camera.

Build mode

In build mode you can build things as the name suggests. It has ten sections which are walls, doors and windows, flooring, wall covering, staircases, foundations and decks, terrain, garden, roofing and miscellaneous.

Under doors and windows you can find doors, single story windows, multi-story windows and archways.
Under flooring you can find stone, wood, tile, brick, carpet, linoleum and poured.
Under wall covering you can find brick, masonry, siding, poured, paint, wallpaper, tile, paneling.
Under staircases you can find stairs and connecting stairs.
Under terrain you can find elevation, ground cover and water.
Under garden you can find trees, flowers and shrubs.
Under roofing you can find roof types, dormers, roof patterns and auto roofs.
Under miscellaneous you can find columns, fireplaces, swimming pools, fences and gates.

To the right is a set of tools. These are the hand tool which is used for picking up and placing, the eyedropper tool for finding something in the catalog which is already on the lot, the design tool which can change the color of some items, the day/night toggle which shows what the lot looks like in day or night, the top down view which shows you a bird's-eye view of the lot and the rotating buttons which rotate the camera.

Pleasantview – They say that looks are deceiving, so are names. Pleasantview isn’t all the pleasant. There are many small stories to discover and play in this town but the biggest and most popular would be the mysterious Goth incident. It has a strong link to Strangetown where it is believed Bella Goth now lives. This is because after years of being together, Mortimer and Bella Goth were separated when the mysterious Caliente sisters, Nina and Dina, arrived. There are now many Bella stories around the internet but it’s just something you’ll have to play with; nobody knows what really happened to her.
Land: The land is covered in luscious green grass and is very flat.

Strangetown – As it was said before, this is linked in well with Pleasantview. There are also many odd families in this town — for instance, Olive Specter. She lives with her niece Ophelia, but there are many people buried in the back garden whose identities are unknown. There are rumors this family is linked to Loki and Circe Beaker who test on poor Nervous Subject.
Land: The land here is quite dry and desert like, a few dints and hills.

Veronaville – Some of the people in this town may seem familiar to you. All of the Sims are based on Shakespearian characters and the main town story is based on Romeo and Juliet. As described in the neighborhood description “Two houses, alike in dignity... The Capps and Montys have been feuding for years, but that hasn't stopped the younger generation from crossing boundaries and falling in love. Will their actions lead to ruin, or bring the families together?” Land: The land here is almost all flat.

Every Sim needs a home and every home has had at least some time put into creating it. Here you can find a few tips on building that perfect house for your Sims.

First you must select a suitable lot size. You don’t want to buy a huge lot for a small house because it’s a waste of money and it takes longer to load for no reason. Pick a lot that will fit your house but be sensible about it. Before you get started, name the lot and if you want to make sure you don’t go over the budget your family has, move the family into the empty lot.

Tools

Wall tool- This builds walls.
Doors and windows- These can be placed on walls to let in light or to let your Sims get into different rooms.
Floor- This lets you pick a covering for the floor.
Wall covering- This lets you pick wallpaper, tiles and so on.
Staircases- These allow you to build other levels to the house.
Decks or foundations- These can be built to add level to your house and you won’t have to level the ground.
Garden tool- Here you can find plants and flowers.
Terrain tool- This lets you change the colour of the terrain or level it. You can also build hills or ditches.
Roof tool- Complete your house with a roof. You can select the style and colour of the slate.
Columns- These let you extend the size of the second level without having to build more beneath it.
Multi-story columns- These are the same as regular columns but you can reach higher floors.
Swimming pools- This is where your Sim can swim for a bit. You can add ladders, lights and a diving board to the pool as well.
Fireplaces- These add a nice touch to your Sims houses and they can light fires to improve their environment motive. When a fireplace is built you also get a chimney.
Fences- These are like outdoor walls and give your garden a nice touch.
Gates- These are basically small doors for fences.

Levelling

If you are using decks or foundations skip this section and move on to the next one.

First go into build mode and select the terrain button. If you have any expansions after pets then there is a ‘flatten lot’ tool. Click this and it automatically flattens the lot without all the hassle it takes. However if you don’t have pets or onwards you can do it by hand. Select the level terrain button and click on one of the corners near the path. Then drag it over and the lot should flatten out.

You can also alter the ground to make it more interesting.

Raising and lowering land- Select the raise or lower terrain tool button and click on the square that you want to alter. The longer you hold, the higher or deeper the ground becomes.
Changing the ground type- You can change the color of the ground by clicking on the ground type button and clicking on the ground and dragging your cursor.
Deleting ground cover- You can do this by holding control and dragging your cursor over the ground.
Water tool- Select this and you can make ponds and lakes. This works the same way as the lowering land tool except the hole fills with water. You can get rid of this by raising the ground.

Decks or Foundations

If you have leveled the ground and don’t want a deck or foundation then skip this section.

Foundations can be used if you don’t wish to level the ground or if you want to have a porch. To start off select the foundations tool in build mode. Then select one of the foundation styles that you are offered. Then click on the ground and drag the foundation until it’s the size that you want. You can also use the diagonal foundation tool to build at an angle. If you wish to delete some of the decks then press control and drag again.

Walls

Walls are the key to every house. If there is a gap (even a small one) in the wall then you can’t put your roof up so listen up. To build a wall you need to select the wall tool in build mode. Select whether you want to build walls freely or with the diagonal or room tool. These let you click and drag and a simple square will be made to whatever size you wish it to be. Sims seem to like rooms with odd corners and things so it’s best to use the normal wall tool.

When the tool is selected click and drag along until you’re satisfied with the walls. Make sure they join up together properly or you can’t put a roof on! If you want to delete walls press control while you have the wall tool selected and drag or use the hammer tool to smash the wall.

Doors and Windows

Doors are needed if you want your Sims to get to the other rooms of the house and inside of it. To put doors in your Sim’s house you need to first have the walls up. When that’s done go to build mode and the doors and windows tool. Select doors and choose the door that you would like for the house. Then you choose where you want it and place it by clicking. Make sure there’s room for furniture as well because you don’t want things blocking the doors.

Windows work in the same way as doors and can be placed in the same way. We use windows to add light to a room. Go into build mode and select the doors and windows tool then select windows. After choosing the window you would like to use, move the mouse and click to place.

Doors and windows must be placed on walls.

Floor

If you haven’t put anything on the floor then all that shows is grass which is not what you want for your Sim’s houses. You also need floors on floors higher then ground level if you wish your Sims to access it. To add floor coverings to your Sim’s house then all you have to do is select build mode and pick the floor tool. You can then choose what type of flooring you want to use from carpets to tiles and from wood to lino. In each section there is a large variety of different floor coverings. After picking one, you can put it in an open area by clicking on the floor and dragging or if you only want a small section of the room covered in that carpet then use this tool. This is handy for a rug effect. If you just want to do it all in one go, then choose your floor covering and make sure the area you want the carpet to go in is enclosed and press shift. This fills the entire area. If you like how this looks then click.

If you want to delete any of the floor coverings then press control and drag or if you want to get rid of all the carpet in a room then press shift and control and then click. This is useful for saving money when you want to redecorate!

Wall Coverings

These make your house look that little bit nicer and are a lot more pleasant than the gray color that your walls will be when you first put them up. To put something on your Sim’s walls, go into build mode and select the wall coverings tool. Then pick what kind of wall covering you would like such as tiles or paint. Then you can choose which covering you would like out of the large range of colors and patterns. To place the wall covering click on the wall and drag or if you want it done quickly and the walls all join with no gaps, press shift and all the walls of that room will be covered in the paper. To delete wall coverings press control and drag or if you want to delete all the paper in a room press control and shift at the same time and click.

Staircases

These can be used if you want an upstairs in your house. You can have up to three floors and a roof top floor (but you can’t have a roof if you do this). To build some stairs first go into build mode and select the stairs tool. Then make sure you choose the non-connecting stairs (I’ll go into connecting stairs later). Pick the staircase that you would like to use and place it like an item. This will add a new floor. If you want your Sims to access this floor then you need to add floor coverings.

Connecting stairs is a little different. These are needed if you are using foundations because otherwise your Sims can’t get to the house. Select the stairs you want to use and click on the deck when you have decided which direction you want them to face and you’ve gotten the right height (which can be done by dragging the stairs out farther from the start of them) click. Afterward, you can select a railing which can be added to the stairs by clicking on them.

Roof Tool

Finish your house by building a roof. Go to build mode and select the roof tool. Choose one of the roof tools there. You can choose auto roofs and pick a type of roof or you can go for the more advanced option of making the roof yourself by selecting a type and clicking and dragging.

Columns and multistory columns

If you want to expand a floor that isn't on the ground and you've run out of space then you need to use columns. They're also required if you wish to make a balcony. To use columns go into build mode and select columns. Choose a column and click to place it. Then you can build flooring on top of it and around it.

Multistory columns are used when you want to use columns for the second floor and onwards.

Fireplaces

To build a fireplace go into build mode and select fireplaces. Pick a fireplace and click where you want to put it. It must be placed against a wall and a chimney will be automatically built when you place it.

Swimming pools

Sims can use these to build their body skill and also help the fun motive. First go into build mode and click on swimming pools. Click on the swimming pool tool and click and drag to the size you want to pool to be. They can only be built on the ground floor.

You can add a diving board to the swimming pool so your Sims can dive in easily. Find it in the swimming pool section and click where you want it. It has to be at the side of the pool.

Your pool NEEDS a ladder so your Sims can get out again. Also, if your pool doesn't have a diving board it's needed for your Sims to get in.

Lastly, you can add small lights to the side of the pool by selecting them and clicking where you would like them to go.

Fences and gates

Fences add a nice touch to your Sims garden and can be used to separate areas of the garden or to outline the house. Go into build mode, then fences, and choose the fence you would like. The fence tool works like the wall tool and all you have to do is click and drag.

Gates are used so Sims can go through the fences. To build a gate go into the gates section in build mode and choose a gate to go with the fence. Then click an area in the fence where you would like the gate to go.

Plants, trees and flowers

These are great for decorating your Sim's garden and can be found under the build mode garden section. Choose a plant, flower, or tree to put in your Sim's garden and click to place. Be creative with your gardens and enhance your Sim's lot.

A new feature to the game is aspirations. When you create a Sim or when a Sim is born, they have an aspiration and a set of fears and wants. If you achieve a want then the aspiration meter goes up, but if you achieve a fear then it goes down. Red aspiration means your Sim may go into aspiration failure. Gold and platinum aspiration means they will grow up well if they have it when they grow up.

Achieving wants earns aspiration points and with these you can buy aspiration awards which can effect your Sim in a certain way. Aspiration awards can have a positive effect if used with gold or above aspiration or a negative effect when used with green or red aspiration.

Your Sim can have either family aspiration, fortune, romance, pleasure (nightlife expansion pack), knowledge, popularity or if your sim is a baby, child or toddler the growing up aspiration.

Sims will have different wants and fears according to their aspiration. Family Sims will want to have children, whereas knowledge Sims want to be abducted by aliens and so on.

The higher your Sim's aspiration is when they're an elder, the longer they will live so keep an eye on the aspiration meter.

As you play, your Sims will have a couple different bars of needs. They include: Hunger, Comfort, Bladder, Energy, Social, Fun, Hygiene and Environment if your Sim is an adult. Children generally don't have a care for their environment. They will grow accustomed to whatever environment they are raised in.

These needs or 'motives' as they are also called can be fulfilled quite easily. Hunger can be fulfilled by just feeding your Sims which you can do by clicking on the fridge and choosing a meal your Sim can make or finding various other sources of food.

Your Sims gain comfort from sitting down, sleeping, relaxing on the bed, or eating certain foods. A lot of this motive is gained when your Sim sleeps.

The only way you can get your Sim to achieve a full bladder motive bar is making them use the toilet. Otherwise they may suffer the consequences and wet themselves. Sloppy Sims tend to also go in the shower.

Energy is a straightforward motive and can be gained when your Sim sleeps or when they drink an energy drink such as coffee or espresso.

Sims like to be sociable and the only way to achieve this is by socializing with other Sims. Also for some strange reason Sims gain social by smustling (even by themselves) which is a dance interaction that comes with the Nightlife expansion.

The fun motive can be fulfilled in a number of ways. If this motive is low then Sims may not want to gain skills or do their homework. To gain this motive have your Sim do something fun such as watching TV, dancing, or playing on the computer. Serious Sims prefer to read.

Hygiene can only be gained when your Sim has a shower or a bath. If they don't wash, other Sims may not want to interact with them and they may smell. Exercising really brings down your Sim's hygiene motive so make sure they get a shower soon afterward.

The environment motive slides around a lot when Sims change rooms. Large rooms with plenty of light and decoration are good for your Sim's environment motive, whereas small, dark rooms with rubbish and unclean furniture are bad for your Sim's environment motive.

Get a job – Every morning someone in a yellow uniform and cap will walk by (this is your paper delivery boy/girl). You can greet them and tip them if you wish or just wait for them to put the newspaper down and walk away. You can then look for a job in the newspaper; it is recommended you do this quickly as some people may come and steal the paper.
When searching for a job in the newspaper you will get three career options. Keep going through them until you decide which job you want to take.
If you can’t find a job you want, either wait until the next day or go to the computer to get another two career options. There are ten career tracks in the base game, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding a suitable one. Teens and elders can get the same careers as adults, but these only have three levels to them so they’re just a bit of extra money.

Children – Children can actually be quite good at earning money. If they attend a public school then they are sometimes given cash rewards from spelling bees or school events. They can also do things like paint, which can then be sold for a small amount of money, although this is not a stable source of income.

Painting – To have your Sim paint, buy an easel, select the Sim you want to do the painting and click “Paint” on the easel. It takes a few hours of painting to complete and all needs except for fun will drop so don’t forget to take breaks. The higher your Sim’s creativity skill, the better their paintings will sell. Also, the higher their creativity skill is, then the more painting options they will have. Once you’ve acquired so many skill points, they will be able to “Paint still life” or “Paint portrait…”

Novels – Sims can work from home by choosing to write novels. Just buy a computer and click “Write novel”. It is better if your Sim is in a good mood and if they have higher skill points, the novel will sell for a lot more. It takes about three Sim days to complete, but the computer is likely to break if used often and left turned on all the time so be sure to repair it if you want them to carry on. Once it is complete, Sims will receive a phone call telling them their novel is selling and you are given a royalty cheque for your hard work. Well done!

"Rent" your items - You can also “rent” items. This means that you can buy your items, use them and get all of your money back. But there is a small catch to this. You must return your item by midnight that same day, so I wouldn't recommend buying anything later than early evening.

Item appreciation - With some items, they lose value over time, which is understandable. But if you wait a little longer, and I find this works best with things like paintings, then they begin to gain value over time. This means you can leave the painting for a long period of time and it will slowly go up in value. After a while you can sell it for about $500-$1000.

There are a number of jobs in The Sims 2. These jobs are divided among career tracks: Athletic, Business, Criminal, Culinary, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Science, and Slacker. There are jobs available for teens and adults in each of the career tracks. For teens there are two available promotions and for adults there are nine. In all there are up to three positions for teens and ten positions for adults in each career.

In The Sims 2 there are seven different skills you Sims can work on. These are cooking, mechanical, charisma, body, logic, creativity, and cleaning. Each of these skills can be built up by doing certain things.

The higher your Sim's cooking skill is the more dishes they will be able to cook and the chance of house fires decreases. To build up on this Sim you can have your Sim cook or get them to study cooking at a bookcase.

Mechanical skill is useful for when something is broken. Your Sims will be able to fix things and the higher the skill is the quicker things get repaired. Your Sims can gain this by studying it at a bookcase.

Charisma is needed in a few jobs. To build it up you can get your Sims to 'practice speech' in front of a mirror.

Body skill is a good one to work on because your Sims also improve their figure as they gain body skill. You can build up on body skill by getting your Sims to go swimming, go on the exercise machine, exercise to music or work out with a TV. Active Sims can build this skill a lot more quickly than lazy Sims.

Logic skill can be built by playing a game of chess, stargazing through a telescope at night, or by doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

Creativity can be built up by making your Sims paint or play the piano. The higher the skill the better the paintings or the nicer the sound of the music.

Cleaning skill is useful for your Sims around the house. This can be built up by making your Sim clean things such as the toilet or kitchen counters or by studying it at the bookcase. The higher your Sims cleaning skill the less time it takes them to clean things.

Parenting is a unseen skill that comes along with the Freetime expansion pack. It enables the person studying it to be able to tell what a baby needs at the time instead of randomly guessing if the baby needs to be changed or fed. You can study it from any bookshelf.